From Cleveland.com:

“AKRON, Ohio — A 36-year-old man was hit in the head with a brick early Friday while walking his dog.

The man told police he was walking about 2:15 a.m. on Inman Street near Davies Avenue when two men approached him and asked for a cigarette.

The man refused. One of the men grabbed a brick and hit the man in the head. The man told police he fought the two men and they eventually ran away. 

In a separate incident earlier in the night, a 44-year-old man was stabbed in the chest by someone who asked him for a lighter.

The man was walking home about 10:30 p.m. on Owen Avenue at West Crosier Street when another man approached him. The 44-year-old man went to give the man a lighter, when the man stabbed him in the chest, according to police reports.”

Here’s an idea, first guy: how about not walking your dog at 2:15 in the morning? Think that may have been the play here. I don’t know Akron too well but if I’m in an area where there’s even the slightest chance of my head meeting a brick walking outside that late, I’m tossing my pup in the bathtub and dealing with the consequences later.

Also, my man’s gotta be better on his feet. The streets probably weren’t flooded with people at that time of night so I’m betting there’s a good chance he saw these dudes coming.  You gotta bob when they weave. Start cutting through people’s yards. Find a garage that’s open. Christ, walk into a house if you have to. I’ve taken some outlandish detours to avoid interactions with other human beings. If you see the homeless man talking to himself and he looks like he could be armed, you take a lap. We’ve all done it. I do it in grocery stores constantly with people I don’t feel like making small talk with. Just swing back and get  your produce later.

The 44-year-old got it rough though. There’s just no getting around it. It was only 10:30, he’s thinking hey sure I’ll be a good guy and give this gentleman a lightohhhhhhhh shit I’m stabbed. What would the guy have done if he said no? There’s no bobbing and weaving a switchblade to the sternum.

These two stories I was fine joking about because both guys were okay, but there was a third walking-related incident that didn’t end so hot:

From Cleveland.com:

“CLEVELAND, Ohio – A 31-year-old man was shot and killed late Thursday in Cleveland’s South Broadway neighborhood, police said.
The man was shot as he walked home from another house where he was watching TV with friends, police said.

His friends heard gunfire after he left. They found him in a nearby yard with multiple gunshot wounds to his legs and abdomen.

Nobody witnessed the shooting, officials said.

The killing is Cleveland’s 109th homicide this year.”

I know we don’t have all the details, but walking home from watching TV with your friends just isn’t how someone should go. 109 homicides this year. Per newsnet5.com, that’s the highest rate since 2009 when there were 120. Not a good look guys. Not a good look at all.